Europe

Ten people have tested positive for coronavirus in more than 1,700 tests carried out by Germany's professional soccer league (DFL) at its 36 clubs ahead a planned resumption of full training, it said on Monday. 

The DFL, which tested players and coaching staff at the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga teams, did not identify those who had tested positive or their clubs and said the cases had been reported to health authorities. 

Goalkeeper Loris Karius has terminated his contract with Turkish side Besiktas following a dispute over unpaid wages, the on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper said on Monday.

Premier League clubs are bleeding money and their finances would be entering "uncharted waters" if the season that was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic is not finished, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has said. 

Professional soccer has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak which has killed more than 28,100 people in the United Kingdom, and the league is no closer to a return after a meeting with all 20 clubs on Friday. 

One of my most unpopular opinions is that PSG’s 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of their 2016-17 Champions League Round of 16 tie was more impressive than La Remontada. In the face of what happened at the Camp Nou, everyone forgets just how devastating PSG was three weeks prior at the Parc des Princes.

Of all the clubs that can feel hard done-by the suspension of football, Wolves certainly has a case to be near the top of the list. After a six-year spell outside the Premier League, Wolves firmly established itself in England’s top division last season with a seventh-place finish and qualification to this year's Europa League.

Players will need at least four weeks to regain match fitness once coronavirus lockdown measures are lifted and they are able to resume training, FK Partizan coach Savo Milosevic said on Sunday. 

The 46-year old former Yugoslavia striker, who scored 37 goals in 102 internationals and won the 1996 English League Cup with Aston Villa, pointed out that a return to normal training would be gradual. 

The Premier League and its clubs are "frightened to death" about publicly backing the resumption of the season as they do not want to be held liable if someone dies because of the coronavirus, television pundit Gary Neville said on Sunday. 

Professional soccer has been suspended since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected over 182,000 people in the United Kingdom, killing more than 28,000. 

Dave Kitson's bid to become the players' union chief has been opposed by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, while the head of anti-racist campaign group Kick It Out has raised concerns over his past comments about England forward Raheem Sterling.

Ex-player Kitson is aiming to replace Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) chief Gordon Taylor, who has been at the helm since 1981, saying the body's response to the COVID-19 crisis was "an absolute embarrassment."

ROME — FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani has said that moving the European soccer season to the calendar year is a "possibility to be discussed" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic which has brought football to a standstill around the world.

In an interview with Italy's Radio Sportiva, Montagliani, who is seen as a close ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, said the move would fit in with the 2022 World Cup being played in Qatar in November and December.

German top-flight soccer team FC Cologne said on Friday that group training was continuing despite three people at the club testing positive for COVID-19.

In a statement the Bundesliga side said the entire squad and coaching staff had been tested on Thursday.

"Three people tested positive, all are symptom free," the club statement said. "After an assessment of the cases by the responsible health authorities, the three people who tested positive will go into a 14-day quarantine at home."